Last week, we mentioned that there are 4 milestones which we will be following throughout this series. In the next 2 episodes, we are going to take a closer look at the first milestone at Gilgal.

In the book of Joshua, Chapter 4, verses 19-24, when the Israelites first crossed the Jordan River and made camp, they set up a monument of twelve stones to commemorate the crossing. At Gilgal, the Israelites were circumcised prior to them entering the Promised Land (Joshua 5:5). After Joshua had circumcised the Israelites, they stayed on at Gilgal until they healed. Then, God told Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you” (Joshua 5:9). The place was called Gilgal, which literally means ‘rolling away’ in Hebrew. Through this act, God rolled away the ‘reproach of Egypt’ which was upon the Israelites. What does this mean? There were two incidents that nearly invoked God’s judgement to destroy Israel: when they moulded a golden calf to worship (Exodus 32) and when they refused to enter the Promised Land in Kadesh Barnea, complaining against Moses and Aaron and asking to return to Egypt (Numbers 13-14). Each time, God was about to destroy disobedient Israel, until Moses interceded for them.

But at Gilgal, God removed the sins and judgement due them, through the act of circumcision. What is the significance of Gilgal in our discipleship journey? Gilgal symbolizes the cutting away of the flesh. In this context, the ‘flesh’ refers to our fallen sinful nature and carnality.

Why did God give this command to Joshua to have all the males born in the wilderness to be circumcised? First, it was to renew their covenant with Him (Genesis 17: 10-11).  As a sign of the covenant mentioned in Genesis, God required every male Jew to be circumcised on the eighth day after birth. These included their slaves and foreigners who wanted to be part of this covenant. In Exodus 3, God once again declared this covenant when He appeared to Moses at the burning bush. Therefore, circumcision, or the cutting of the flesh, is the sign to remove the things that stand between us and God. To the Jews, circumcision was a reminder that they were a ‘marked’ people, and this mark signified that they were in covenant with God.

Second, it was to re-affirm their confidence in the Lord (Joshua 5:8). At this time, Israel was encamped in the midst of enemy territory. After they were circumcised, they had to stay in their camps till they recovered. As a result, they were temporarily unable to fight. Because Israel’s obedience to God had the consequence of making them very vulnerable to the enemies around them, it took great faith to obey God and carry out His command. They had to demonstrate full faith and confidence in God to protect them.

Just as physical circumcision took away the Israelites’ natural abilities to defend themselves, spiritual circumcision is needed for us to fully obey and rely on God. ‘Acting in the flesh’ is when we are completely immersed in the natural, and not living any differently from pre-believers. Even followers of Jesus Christ sometimes make the same decisions and responses as they did before as pre-believers.

What are the implications of Gilgal for us? It reminds us of the need to spiritually ‘cut off the flesh’, removing the things that hinder us from having a vibrant relationship with God and with others. Why must we do this? First, the flesh is hostile to God, and cannot please God (Romans 8:7). The flesh is not neutral; it is an aggressive enemy of the rule of God in our lives. Second, the words of Christ are spirit and life, and the flesh profits nothing (John 6:63). Jesus taught that the flesh adds no value to the things of God, the kingdom of God and the building of lives. Finally, the sinful nature is corrupt and cannot be transformed. This is why when we receive Christ as Lord and Saviour, we are not ‘improved’ although we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). There is a spiritual life as Christ dwells with us. The sinful nature is not to be reasoned with or accommodated; it must be crucified and put to death. To deal with the flesh, we must first recognize two aspects of the flesh (or sinful nature) in us: that which ‘sins’, and also that which does ‘good’.

At Gilgal, prior to crossing the Jordan River, God told Joshua to circumcise all the Israelites who had been born in the wilderness and who were not circumcised. We have seen that the typology of Gilgal is the cutting away of the flesh — removing it as it is a blockage to the expression of spiritual life in us. To live victoriously is to deal with the faculties of our sinful nature. This is where Pastor Daniel Foo believes that every disciple should experience the journey of brokenness.

Brokenness is the realisation of the corruption and futility of everything in our fleshly life. Brokenness is also the journey towards disempowering the fleshly life. Our sinful nature and flesh cannot please God. Life’s circumstances will often give us hard knocks. However, the Lord is very merciful. In these circumstances, He points out the areas in our lives that need changing. If we still struggle, He will allow us to struggle and even rebel against Him, until we come to the end of ourselves in that situation. Only when we are broken in that area of our lives will He help us to achieve a breakthrough. Then He will gently put His finger on other areas of our lives that need to be yielded. This is because He loves us and desires to mould us into the image of Christ-likeness.

Scripture, in 1 Corinthians 6:19, reminds us that as temples of the Holy Spirit, we already have the life and the love of God in us as believers. This is also reinforced in Romans 5:5. But this new spiritual life is suppressed, encased and entombed by our sinful nature — which is why this nature must be broken.

There are two powerful images of brokenness recorded in the Scriptures. The first picture is the image of the Lord as the Potter and we as the clay (Isaiah 64:8; Jeremiah 18:5-6). When a pot or vase is being made, it might lose its shape or develop holes in the moulding process. When this happens, the Potter will break it, mould it again and spin it on the wheel to reshape it. The prerogative lies in the hands of the skillful Potter; and the pot must yield to His hands. In this, we can be made whole and beautiful, perfect and complete. The other image is that of a wild horse (Psalm 32:9 and James 3:3). A wild horse is very strong, but its strength is uncontrolled. A horse like this is often tamed by a skillful cowboy, who breaks the horse’s stubborn will to make it obedient to its master. Only when the horse is broken and tamed, does it become useful to the master.

At the end of today’s talk, you may have the following reflections:

Have you personally experienced brokenness? Are there areas in your life that God is pointing out, and asking you to submit and yield to Him?

In the next episode, we will look into denying our self-life and transformation from carnality to Spirituality.

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